Nemesis Alien Hybrid (The Claudia Belle Series Book 5)

by C. S Luis

"Damn it! If you leave she might have a chance." John yelled, pushing forward. "Don't you see that? It's the only way!"

  Quentin seemed unconvinced as he moved aside.

  "You can escape. All I ask is that you lure them away from here. So that she may be safe…" John pleaded.

  Quentin fell silent, narrowing his flashing eyes at John's brawny figure. It seemed he did that at a sudden action, or when he was trying to read him. John had seen his eyes flashing when he had first come into the cafeteria and he and Claudia were standing together talking.

  "Then she must return with me, where she belongs. Only then will she be safe," Quentin answered. His eyes flashed at John once more, the purple swirls now a colorful yellow.

  What did the colors mean? Did they have any meaning? They seemed to. John pondered. A different color for a different reaction or a different feeling or even a different reading.

  Then he heard him, a thought perhaps, “Can’t you see it’s that simple?” Quentin’s eyes seemed to flash in response.

  "No, way—not gonna happen!" John yelled. "You're not taking her anywhere. She belongs here with—" he held his tongue, dropping his eyes to the marble floor. Quentin grimaced.

  "She's not going anywhere with you—not without a fight," John said, and loaded a second bullet into the chamber as it clicked, he looked right at Quentin.

  "It is the only way she will be safe, as you wish it," Quentin wrinkled a brow slightly in John's direction. No human was to tell him what he could and couldn't do, especially not this human.

  "Surely you don't think she will ignore your betrayal?" Quentin questioned.

  John blinked, of course he hadn't, but with time, he was assuring himself she would understand. She would have to. A smile from Quentin made him realize the alien knew of his plans.

  "I'm warning you. You either help me or I will banish you back to wherever the hell it is you came from!"

  John lifted the gun and pointed it at Quentin with malice in his eyes. Quentin’s eyes flashed once more, the colorful purples were brighter now, a red color so bold flashing ever so slightly, this time they were not dimming.

  Quentin laughed fearlessly, glaring into the barrel as if it were some kind of toy.

  "You can't kill me with that…" Quentin firmly said as he moved forward in a threatening manner.

  John shook slightly but quickly regained his composure. He suddenly became aware of the truth of his words, the gun in his grip was useless, of course, but anything was better than nothing. At least this would stop him briefly if needed, and now he wondered about his crystal.

  But he couldn't let Quentin see his weaknesses or the fear that gnawed at him if he were to lose Claudia to anyone. Had he really become a fool in love as Bryce had stated, when once before he was a furious Hunter? Now, he couldn’t even think straight. But he could honestly say this was all new to him. He had never been in love.

  "You can’t protect her," John pleaded hopelessly. "Can't you see she's in danger? If they find her—No... you can’t let that happen— we can’t let that happen." John informed him, but Quentin moved a small distance away from John.

  The man shook, lowering his gun slightly while he wrinkled his eyebrows and glared at the young man in desperation. Why wasn’t he reacting to his plea? Didn’t he care what happened? Didn’t he care that Claudia was in danger?

  "You can’t protect her so they won't find her…" John repeated through clenched teeth. How could he make him understand that?

  "They must never know she exists. Or what she can do. They can’t find that out. If they're only looking for you, then Claudia is safe," John tried to make him understand.

  Quentin laughed. "You want her…." he suddenly said, taking John by complete surprise.

  "What?" John's hands began to shake.

  "You think I can't see that…you want to take her from me like everyone else. I will never let you have her. She is my pet. And that's why I am not going anywhere." Quentin declared with an evil smile.

  "Maybe if they know she exists, then she would have no choice but to come with me..." he sneered.

  "You bastard! I won't let you!" John yelled, lifting the gun. His hands shook slightly and his lips quivered uncontrollably. He rested his finger on the trigger, trying to hold the gun up steadily.

  "You'll endanger her just to get your way?" The words just barely escaped his trembling mouth.

  "She is mine,” Quentin sneered, the color on his eyes became swirls of burning reds, the yellows enhanced the purple color.

  "I only ask that you help us protect her. That's all. I thought you cared for her safety. But you'll betray her for your own selfish desires?"

  "And you, for yours," Quentin grimaced.

  John blinked. He was sure he had been read like an open book from the very beginning. But the fear was there just as Quentin had predicted.

  "I won't let you take her." John snapped.

  "They'll know the truth and she won't have a choice. Your plan has failed. And for this betrayal, you will lose her, Venator!" Quentin chuckled.

  John lunged forward, grabbing Quentin by the collar and lifting and pushing him against the lockers. He easily raised him and glared at Q's youthful human face, which mocked him with a smirk.

  "I won't let you take her! You hear me, you monster?" John snarled at him as he shoved Quentin repeatedly against the lockers.

  Quentin began to laugh, did he think this was amusing? John thought. It was such a disturbing laugh that it made John furious, causing him to shove Quentin's frame over and over against the lockers. The fading lights above darted on and off again as John smashed Quentin around like a madman attempting to drown out his disgusting laughter. He suddenly paused and placed the gun against the alien’s head. His crystal had disappeared, the only thing he had now was the gun and it would have to do.

  Quentin's eyes widened and his grin flashed up devilishly at John, daring him to pull the trigger. He bared his teeth for John, an awkward pale smile gleaming from his human face. If he hadn't appeared so human, he thought, he would have pulled the trigger. Instead, he put the gun slowly down and replaced it in the holster.

  "Stop it!"

  John spun around, finding Claudia stepping out of the dark hallway to his right, witnessing it all.

  "Leave him alone!" Claudia screamed. At once, as if by magic, John released Quentin. Claudia's accusing eyes forced John to step away. A grin crept from Quentin’s pale face and John knew what game he would use.

  Claudia rushed instantly to Quentin's side to comfort him, blocking John from him. Quentin used this to his advantage, John noticed, as she tried to help Quentin to his feet.

  "He attacked me for no reason!" Quentin said suddenly to her. "I did nothing! I promised I wouldn't hurt your friends, did I not?" He said to Claudia, as she knelt down next to Quentin and he eagerly accepted her hand and he stood up.

  "I believe you," she softly said and he smiled, as she darted her angry eyes over at John.

  "What? Wait a minute. Claudia—let me explain." John awkwardly said moving towards them. Claudia backed away with Quentin, blocking John from the alien behind her.

  "Can't you see he's lying?"

  Quentin seemed to be playing his arrogant role really well. It was too easy since she loved him no matter how cruel and unnatural he was. She was blinded by his illusions. The monster had exploited her feelings for him, used them to his advantage. He had to have known she was in love with him. And that burned him. Even he could see the obvious no matter how much he denied it to himself the first time around.

  "Stay away from him. I won't let you take him! I know what you're trying to do. And I won't let you! I know you don't want to trust him but I won't let you hurt him."

  Quentin grinned at John from behind Claudia.

  "No, Claudia. It's not what it looks like," John nervously answered. But he knew what it looked like. His plans, his betrayal, he couldn't hide from it. She had seen everything.

  "Liar!" Claudia yell
ed. "I know your plans! You want to send him away…you want those people to take him away from me—knowing they will do horrible things to him. You want to hurt him. Well, I won't let you! I won't!" she said, weeping.

  "I'm just trying to protect you and your family." "Protect us?” Claudia asked, staring at him angrily. "You don't plan to protect my family. You just want to take me away from them."

  "No, Claudia that's not true." But he knew he had betrayed himself. His emotions had given him away.

  "I just wanted to…keep you safe from them. They're not looking for you. They want him," he replied, pointing a finger at Quentin.

  "They want Quentin. They only want him. He is a powerful being. He can save himself. But I don't want anything to happen to you." John pleaded, slowly moving forward, but Claudia pushed back pulling Quentin with her away from John. John stopped; he didn't want to frighten her.

  "Liar! You don't care what happens to my family," Claudia whispered sadly. "You don't care about anyone but yourself."

  "That's not true. Claudia, listen to me. It's the only way. He won't matter. He'll be fine…he can escape." John tried to assure her.

  "Well, he matters to me and I won't let you take him from me. I care for him."

  "Damn it –He's not like you and me! He's not even human, can’t you understand that? He will be fine! This is nothing to him. He'll be fine!" Quentin's eyes became tiny behind the frown on his face.

  "Can’t you see what he is doing to you? The hold he has on you. Claudia, it's the only way. I don’t want to lose you.”

  "You stay away from us!" Claudia yelled.

  John blinked, realizing Claudia had already spent too much time with Quentin. His control over her had begun and he was swaying her emotions and mind. He had manipulated her. And she now gazed at John angrily.

  "He wants to take you away from everyone. Even from me," Quentin softly said falling back slightly, Claudia leaned near his side, glaring back at Mr. Slater from behind. He moved forward and only stopped when he realized she was frightened of him.

  "He's a liar—That's not true!" John yelled.

  "It doesn't matter, for the Reaper will come and I will be no more." Quentin continued, staring over at her.

  "Then you won't have to worry about me any longer." He gazed at John, who wrinkled a brow. Claudia started to cry, and John choked back a grunt. Oh, he was doing a great job to subdue her.

  "No, I won't let that happen. I won't let anyone take you away from me." Quentin grinned as she reached to hold him.

  His words were as phony as the human form he resembled, John thought. Claudia held him, stroking his face gently. She held him tightly, as Quentin glared over at John, John could see through his little act, and for a moment, he swore that the alien was laughing at him.

  "Claudia, don't listen to him! Can't you see what he's doing? Just come with me. We need to get you somewhere safe. We need to get out of here! You must trust me."

  "Stop! I don't want to hear any more of your lies!" Claudia yelled as she held onto Quentin.

  "I will not let you touch him!" she cried, and John could see she meant it. He had never seen this part of her. And he knew Quentin was fueling it. The longer she remained by his side, the more like him she would be, not to mention vow to protect him.

  "Claudia, please listen to me," John tried to say. But how could he win with Quentin's strong will controlling her? If anything, it was John that was the fiend in all this. He moved forward to try to reason with her. He could already see the girl was very guarded of him.

  "Stay away—I won't let you take him, Mr. Slater. I won't," she firmly declared.

  "Claudia…sweetie, you don't understand." John continued.

  "No, you don't understand!" She challenged the man suddenly, moving forward with Quentin remaining behind her, looking on.

  "I love him and I won't let you or anyone hurt him."

  Q lifted his head up defiantly with a grin. John gasped at her words. Love him? Had she realized what she said? Her words hurt him more than he thought they would. Love him? But who else could he blame for this, but himself for leaving her for so long? And now she was in the arms of another. He had lost her.

  Claudia lifted her hands up and long before John knew what she meant to do, a wave of energy jolted him backward to the floor. He blankly gazed up at her in disbelief.

  "Claudia?" he gasped as he caught sight of Quentin approaching from behind her with the same cruel smirk on his face.

  Again, a streaming wave of energy struck him forcing him down on the ground, paralyzing his entire body. He cried out as it increased. He was unable to move screaming painfully as the force engulfed his form.

  He gazed up at her, raising a hand out in plea, hoping she would break away and realize what she was doing. He could reach for the Desert Eagle and stop her with one bullet but neither he nor The Man in Blue would ever hurt her. And he felt helpless.

  "Claudia…please…" he weakly gasped. Her eyes seemed distant and empty. She wasn't there any longer; she was in Quentin's control. And Quentin stepped beside her, watching with that scowl on his face as she moved forward to his figure on the ground and lashed out repeatedly in anger. The alien was laughing now, his eerie and hideous voice echoing all around him as he cried in agony and desperation.

  Suddenly, a loud blast shook the school halls from all directions. Before John knew what was happening, a bright beam of light darted down the hallway, shooting through the air and hitting Quentin's body. Claudia lost her balance and fell forward. Immediately she seemed to emerge from her trance. John was able to move again as he struggled to his feet, realizing what was happening.

  "No!" John cried as he saw Quentin's entire body consumed by a white light.

  Quentin shrieked as the beam of light coming from the other end of the hall struck him and paralyzed his form. His cries echoed throughout the hallways, releasing a thunderous wave that cracked and shattered the glass all around. Still weakened, John managed to grab Claudia and drop to the ground, shielding her as the wave passed through them and beyond.

  He lifted her to her feet, noticing she was in shock. He shook her until she woke and stared up at him frightened.

  "Claudia—run!" he yelled.

  "I have to save Q!"

  She tried to run to him, but John grabbed her. He knew it was too late. He had to protect her no matter what happened now.

  "Let me go!" she pleaded. "I have to help him." She fought John's grasp, freeing herself from him and raced away watching in horror as the light consumed Quentin. She tried to reach for him but was immediately thrown back by the light.

  Disoriented and dazed, she stumbled into the path of another who grabbed her and wouldn't let her go.

  "Let me go!" Claudia screamed.

  "Claudia!" John cried. All around, shadows danced in the fading lights. John spotted her in the distance being held by a tall figure, obscured by the shadows. He retrieved his weapon at once pointing it at the darkness until he realized he didn't dare fire for fear of hitting Claudia instead.

  "Claudia!" he gasped in desperation. The beams of light finally consumed Quentin and held him in place.

  "Let her go!" John yelled, pointing his weapon at the shadows to whoever held her.

  "You like my new toy, John? I call it The Beam, an energy beam that absorbs just enough energy from him to render him helpless." A voice broke through the surrounding chaos as the squad of troops wearing black armor raced into the halls from all directions. John recognized the uniform; he had once led such an army as a Venator.

  "Dr. Klein, I should have known." John tried to move closer, but as he did, more troops in black armor stepped from the shadows and surrounded him.

  Quentin finally fell silent to the floor. At the other end, the trooper directing the large cannon mounted on a portable tripod, finally decreased the power and the light seemed to wither slowly.

  "Take what you came for, it makes no difference—all I want is the girl. Let her go," John eag
erly uttered.

  "All in good time, John… Why don't you stick around for a while longer?" John shook his head in frustration as Claudia's face filled with fear.

  "We had a deal. Let her go!" John again yelled.

  "Mr. Slater, what’s going on?" Claudia desperately pleaded.

  John put his finger to his lip to silence her. Obviously, they weren’t aware she knew anything about Project X or its importance to them. And he wanted to keep it that way.

  "It's alright, my dear. We won’t hurt you. We’re not interested in you.”

  “Who are you?” Claudia asked, glaring up at the man.

  “A friend of Mr. Slater’s—he works for us. Isn't that right, John?"

  "Mr. Slater, you know him?" she curiously asked John. He didn’t know what to say but couldn’t hide the fact that what the man was saying was definitely the truth. But the truth of a bigger picture he hadn’t wanted to reveal to her. And yet she already knew.

  "Claudia, it's going to be alright, trust me. Don’t say another word,” he whispered, staring right at her. “I did what I did for us. For you."

  She shook her head. She didn't want to believe what he was saying even though she had already seen it in his eyes. She felt like a fool for trusting him.

  “He would have taken you away from me, the moment he got a chance. I had to do it…for us. For you." His mind said what he truly meant.

  A metal case was laid over Quentin's fallen figure, as men in radiation suits locked it in place and immediately sealed him in it. Tiny crystals were placed over the cover to keep him from escaping, then rolled away.

  "Trust you?" Claudia wept, glancing over at John. Dr. Klein began to laugh, as the men disappeared down the hallway.

  "Well done, John we would have never successfully immobilized him without your help. Do you like the case? It’s designed especially for his kind and it should hold him under control until we take him back to the lab. Then we can study him closely and see what makes him tick. We might have to take him apart, but all in the name of science, correct?" He laughed, holding Claudia tightly in his grasp.

  “Any idea on the source’s whereabouts?” John didn’t answer, clenching his teeth as he watched the man, Klein, holding Claudia in his clutches. She struggled in his arms. If he only knew how close the source was to him already.